VIIL—PHENOLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS IN Nova Scotia AND 
Canaba, 1901—By A. H. MacKay, LL. D. 
(Received for Publication May, 1902.) 
I present herewith a summary of the phenological observa- 
tions made in about 450 of the public schools of the Province 
of Nova Scotia, each county being represented by a greater cr 
less proportion of observers. 
The observations were for the most part made by the pupils 
of the schools under the supervision and direction of the teachers 
who are responsible for their accuracy. The observers are 
specially directed to the determination of two dates (pheno- 
chrons)—one for the first ap pearance of the event (eating, flower- 
ing, ripening of fruit, ete.), the other for the date when it may 
be said to be “becoming common.” As pupils radiate from the 
school-house, in rural districts especially, to a distance of one or 
even two miles daily, and as the monotony of the walk home 
and back again to school next morning is very much lightened 
by the eager lookout for the first appearance of each phenom- 
enon during the procession of the season, (which, when reported 
to the teacher and demonstrated by the presentation of the 
specimen, is recorded to the credit of the observer), these obser- 
vations must be much more accurate than those made by a 
single observer, especially if he can only go out into the fields 
or the woods at intervals of sometimes several days. In fact, 
while it must be acknowledged from the investigation of the 
schedules that mistakes are sometimes made in noting the first 
date, or mistaking the species of the plant, and even in record- 
ing a correct observation, the general agreement of many school 
sections proves that the phenomena are most promptly noticed 
and correctly reported. 
These 450 schedules (the best of a larger list sent in) were 
divided between four of the leading botanists of the Province 
(486) 
